Grants

Announcing Council of American Overseas Research Centers/Council of Independent Colleges Seminar on Teaching About Islam and Middle Eastern CultureJanuray 3-19, 2010Amman, Jordan

CIC and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) are delighted to have the opportunity once again to announce a seminar on Teaching About Islam andMiddle Eastern Culture, made possible through support from the U.S. Department of State and with additional support for follow-up activities provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This seminar, like CAORC/CIC's highly successful 2004, 2005, and 2007 seminars, will take place at the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan, and will run from January 3-19, 2010.

The seminar is designed specifically for independent college and university faculty members who are not experts in Islam or Middle Eastern culture and who are developing courses, or adapting existing courses, in order to give more attention to these fields. There are 12 places in the seminar, which is open to full-time CIC faculty members in all fields, of all faiths, and from institutions associated with any religious denomination (or none at all) and who are U.S. citizens. Participation expenses will be covered by the U.S. Department of State. There is no seminar fee. Participants or their institutions are responsible for airfare and visa fees, but we are pleased to add that-for the very first time in this seminar series-the home institution of the seminar participant is eligible to receive a grant of up to $3,000, generously provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, to support the follow-up activities that the participant undertakes in order to share the experience with his or her home institution and community. This funding may be used for released-time for the faculty member, course materials, guest lecturers, and other purposes. Sufficient funds have been set aside for all seminar participants to receive these grants. In effect, in return for the college's investment in airfare (perhaps $1,500-2,000) it will receive back $3,000.

ACOR is a distinguished research center dedicated to scholarship and publication in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, history, languages, Biblical studies, Arabic, Islamic studies, and other aspects of Middle Eastern culture. Founded in 1968, ACOR provides advice, coordination, research facilities, and living and meeting space for scholars, and serves as a liaison between Jordanian institutions and international scholars interested in working in the Arab world. It is an ideal location for this seminar.